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The motorsports thread.
I thought it would be nice to set up a dedicated motorsport threads.
3 World championship rallyes already done and Ogier already won 2 and is leading the championship. Will this be the 15th year a frenchman called Sebastien will win the world rally championship ?
This week-end it is all about MotoGP with the opening race in Qatar. I love motogp. Andrea Dovizioso has been leading the free practice sessions, but you are never sure which rider is doing fast laps and which is focusing on race pace.
https://2yrh403fk8vd1hz9ro2n46dd-wpe...ce-results.jpg
Rossi still in the mix at 39 and he just sign for 2 more years at Yamaha ! This guy is a legend.
http://photos.motogp.com/2018/03/16/...ull_top_lg.jpg
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Re: The motorsports thread.
I'm hoping a Ducati will take out Moto GP this year.
I find F1 as boring as bat shit these days, no overtaking and pit stop strategies. They need to simplify the aero and bring back the racing.
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Re: The motorsports thread.
F1- I'm not a fan of the Halo. I think they should let the drivers choose to use it or not. I agree, the lack of passing is getting boring, But I still watch. At least the first corner is still exciting! I hope American ownership doesn't mess F! up.
Rossi: legend indeed. He flirted with F1 here and there, I always wished he gave it a full shot.
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Re: The motorsports thread.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Corso
F1- I'm not a fan of the Halo. I think they should let the drivers choose to use it or not.
I disagree. Many drivers asked for some kind of head protection after the death of Henri Surtees and Justin Wilson, the injuries of Felipe Massa a few years ago. Is it perfect ? I don't know. Should we let the driver choose ? I don't think so. The Halo has so much impact on aero and everything that team engineers would have the last word and the safety of the drivers would have been put aside. F1 is not a driver's sport, it is an engineer's sport.
Back to motogp, things look really great : Zarco got the pole, smashing a 10y old record and 2 satellite riders in the front row, 4 different manufacturers in the first 6 spots and 12 riders in the same second. Losail is a very abrasive track which means the tire saving will be a critical factor and the fastest outright rider won't necessarily cross the finish line first. It can't get much better than that.
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Re: The motorsports thread.
Last year was a good one in terms of spectating. I was in Austin for Moto GP. Wasn't sure what was going to happen to Rossi contract wise and felt it a must to go see him race 1x.
The soft goods venue was literally as big as 1 of Yamaha's motorcycle tents and the line to buy his branded stuff was 1 hour just to pay for your goods. I still bought stuff.
Then it was up to Seattle to check out my first Supercross race. Saw Tomac and Tomac Jr. in the pits. Pretty rad. We sat on the first turn and walked the track. Super impressive the talent of those guys. There were rocks out there bigger than my head. Supercross is really entertaining and I feel way better to see in person than on tv.
Then it was down to Laguna Seca on the moto to see WSBK. 2 years of going down there. Was pretty epic as it was almost right after Hayden's passing. lot of love from the fans for him.
This year is Nascar, Indy Race in PDX and maybe a trip back up to supercross.
My goal is to be at IOMTT in 2020 and check out Le Mans while over there.
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2 Attachment(s)
Re: The motorsports thread.
Dad-brag time, apologies in advance:
Take this one off the bucket list - Rotax Karting World Championships. My son qualified to represent the USA by being vice champion at US Nationals. The race was held in Portugal last November, and it was an experience of a lifetime for a 13 yr old kid. He did great; finished 11th out of a field of 36 kids that were all national champions from their respective countries. Thousands of racers compete across the globe for a chance to compete in this race, so I am so grateful we were able to qualify. It was the most stressful, pressure packed race week of our lives, but the most rewarding as well.Attachment 106878Attachment 106877
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Re: The motorsports thread.
How proud you must be (and how much time you and your kid must spend on karting!)
Thank you for sharing those pics.
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Re: The motorsports thread.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
72gmc
How proud you must be (and how much time you and your kid must spend on karting!)
Thank you for sharing those pics.
Thank you! We do spend A LOT of time karting, but it's worth every minute and penny. He's a good kid and he understands and appreciates the sacrifices it takes. It's fun for me as a dad; it's a nice competitive outlet for me, as I have to be on point with the machinery in order for him to do well. I get to tear apart engines, too, which I love.
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Re: The motorsports thread.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
sk_tle
...Back to motogp, things look really great : Zarco got the pole, smashing a 10y old record and 2 satellite riders in the front row, 4 different manufacturers in the first 6 spots and 12 riders in the same second. Losail is a very abrasive track which means the tire saving will be a critical factor and the fastest outright rider won't necessarily cross the finish line first. It can't get much better than that.
I really enjoyed that race. The front group was so tight for almost the entire race. Looks like we could have an exciting season. This year I decided to pay MotoGP for the iPad experience. The off season stuff, then tire test, and went ahead and purchased through all of the race season. All in all, I'm pleased with the content. The app has some interaction wonkiness, but it's useable.
I'm trying to figure who I need to pitch at MotoGP for our firm to build a trackside experience!
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Re: The motorsports thread.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Christian Fox
Dad-brag time, apologies in advance:
Take this one off the bucket list - Rotax Karting World Championships. My son qualified to represent the USA by being vice champion at US Nationals. The race was held in Portugal last November, and it was an experience of a lifetime for a 13 yr old kid. He did great; finished 11th out of a field of 36 kids that were all national champions from their respective countries. Thousands of racers compete across the globe for a chance to compete in this race, so I am so grateful we were able to qualify. It was the most stressful, pressure packed race week of our lives, but the most rewarding as well.
Super cool! Some friends and I are doing this soon.
COTA Karting - Circuit of the Americas
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Re: The motorsports thread.
I grew up with a kid that raced carts. Eventually got his ticket punched and raced the Indy 500 once. The time, money and energy to get him there was insane but it was a family thing and goal.
He used that experience and the family's business to get a contract building roll cages for NASCAR now.
I
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Re: The motorsports thread.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
jscottyk
Took me a moment to spot the karting track below the main track on the map. I had visions of karts on that main straight, engines screaming, minutes going by, still not at the end ...
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1 Attachment(s)
Re: The motorsports thread.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
72gmc
Took me a moment to spot the karting track below the main track on the map. I had visions of karts on that main straight, engines screaming, minutes going by, still not at the end ...
Ha! Yes. The Kart track is outside of the main track.
Attachment 106880
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Re: The motorsports thread.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
jscottyk
I really enjoyed that race. The front group was so tight for almost the entire race. Looks like we could have an exciting season. This year I decided to pay MotoGP for the iPad experience. The off season stuff, then tire test, and went ahead and purchased through all of the race season. All in all, I'm pleased with the content. The app has some interaction wonkiness, but it's useable.
I'm trying to figure who I need to pitch at MotoGP for our firm to build a trackside experience!
Yes the race was great as were the last 10 laps of the moto2 event.
Karting is so fun as well as its offroad siblings (called kartcross here in europe).
http://www.cd.ufolep.org/vienne/vien...p_img_0605.jpg
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Re: The motorsports thread.
Formula 1 is getting so lame. The only overtaking happens in pit lane.
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Re: The motorsports thread.
These last few decades I have been following f1 from an engineer point of view, without really watching the races. It's neat to hear about the tricks some engineers find to exploit loopholes or grey area in the rule books. From a spectator POV races are always better on championships with low downforce/grip cars.
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Re: The motorsports thread.
Also, from a spectator’s POV (and most certainly the racers), why F1 continues to hold races on courses where there are few safe passing zones. I get Monaco is Monaco and a great traditional race to keep, but after watching Australia, with all the brain-power involved, modify those tracks!
Congrats Seb! Yup, Ferrari fan here.
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1 Attachment(s)
Re: The motorsports thread.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
sk_tle
From a spectator POV races are always better on championships with low downforce/grip cars.
Things were more interesting with less downforce.
Attachment 107003
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Re: The motorsports thread.
Someone elsewhere made a good point regarding modern F1; the racers are no longer racing each other, they are managing their vehicles to specific deltas and targets (at least the contenders, back markers still scuffle a bit). Merc got their delta a bit wrong yesterday, and Lewis lost the race. These days F1 "passes" are increasingly taking place during pit stops. Managing your car is and always has been a big part of motorsports, but in F1 it seems extreme now. Now and then you will hear over the radio "okay, *driver*, you can race now"...isn't that what they are supposed to be doing the whole time? Other than the starts, there isn't a whole lot of racing going on up front.
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Re: The motorsports thread.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Christian Fox
Someone elsewhere made a good point regarding modern F1; the racers are no longer racing each other, they are managing their vehicles to specific deltas and targets (at least the contenders, back markers still scuffle a bit). Merc got their delta a bit wrong yesterday, and Lewis lost the race. These days F1 "passes" are increasingly taking place during pit stops. Managing your car is and always has been a big part of motorsports, but in F1 it seems extreme now. Now and then you will hear over the radio "okay, *driver*, you can race now"...isn't that what they are supposed to be doing the whole time? Other than the starts, there isn't a whole lot of racing going on up front.
And this is one of the biggest reasons why I love motorcycle racing more than any other motorsport ... esp at the MotoGP level. Sure, there are races where the leader checks out, but in those handful of races a season where there are 4-5 passes for the lead in a single lap, it's amazing and so entertaining. The days of Rossi making a last lap, last corner pass for the win were awesome.
Laguna Seca 2008 ... battle between Rossi and Stoner is one of my all-time faves.
Rossi is the GOAT.
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Re: The motorsports thread.
And then there is the sheer road racing, especially the mass starts ones held in northern Ireland such as the Ultster GP, Northwest 200, Southern 100...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDyijs_-C_E
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Re: The motorsports thread.
Marquez is amazing. The guy is unstoppable and the only thing that can beat him is himself. He's reinvented how to ride a motorcycle. He essentially uses saving a low-side crash as a way to corner faster and harder. the only thing that will let Dovi or Rossi compete is if he crashes out- which is a distinct possibility.
i love Rossi and am always rooting for him- although I like the Ducati boys too. Honestly though- Marquez is as the Italians say, "an alien".
the fairy tale for me would be for Vale to win another championship- retire- and then do a few years in World Superbike and make that series interesting again.
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Re: The motorsports thread.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
shorelocal
Rossi is the GOAT.
Not in my eyes. I think that the GOAT has to have an IoM TT win (or several) on their palmares....so in my world Hailwood is the GOAT and Agostini a close 2nd.
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Re: The motorsports thread.
I forget who Rossi was there with at the IOMTT but basically it was a previous winner from decades ago (not a Dunlop) and they did a "parade lap".
Afterwards they asked Rossi if he would ever try to race the event.
He basically said his balls aren't big enough and those guys are nuts.
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Re: The motorsports thread.
I think it was with Guy Martin. They get along well with each other and I think Rossi invited him several times tp his ranch to race on motocross bikes.
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Re: The motorsports thread.
He was there with Agostini and they did a parade lap around the circuit together.
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Re: The motorsports thread.
^^^^^^^^^^^
That would be my guess as well.
Guy doesn't do Parade Laps.......
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Re: The motorsports thread.
Here you go - http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2009/0...t-visit/150110
I somehow missed you saying that they did a parade lap.....if I had seen it I wouldn't have mentioned it in my post.
And Rossi's comments - Rossi: IOM TT is too dangerous | Visordown
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Re: The motorsports thread.
MotoGP and road racing/Isle of Man/Ulster Death Race 2000 etc. are completely different sports. It'd be like asking an olympic fencer if he'd ever considered getting into a knife fight.
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Re: The motorsports thread.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
jerk
MotoGP and road racing/Isle of Man/Ulster Death Race 2000 etc. are completely different sports. It'd be like asking an olympic fencer if he'd ever considered getting into a knife fight.
Isle of Man and the Ulster GP are the greatest events in motorsport on the planet. After the great open road races like Mille Miglia and Paris-Dakar disappeared there’s nothing left for fans of truly extreme racing. Except the open road motorcycle races.
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Re: The motorsports thread.
The Isle of Man is not only a great race, it’s a helluva event too. I spent a week there in ‘78 watching Hailwood do his last race. A week of castor bean oil, very high octane fuel fumes, wandering the paddocks, testosterone and surviving Mad Sunday. Every moto geek should go at least once.
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Re: The motorsports thread.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
jerk
MotoGP and road racing/Isle of Man/Ulster Death Race 2000 etc. are completely different sports. It'd be like asking an olympic fencer if he'd ever considered getting into a knife fight.
I can't agree with that. It is true that in this day and age they have become the arena of specialists just as the classics and Grand Tours have in bicycle racing, but like those bike races there was a time when it wasn't the case. The IoM TT was part of the Grand Prix circuit for many years and those riders managed to be competitive on both types of tracks. In the end it is racing a motorcycle and there's no reason that someone couldn't do well at both if they wanted to......but I do think that it takes a certain mindset to race the true road races and most of today's current MotoGP riders don't have that mindset, since they didn't grow up competing on that type of course.
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1 Attachment(s)
Re: The motorsports thread.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
shorelocal
And this is one of the biggest reasons why I love motorcycle racing more than any other motorsport ... esp at the MotoGP level. Sure, there are races where the leader checks out, but in those handful of races a season where there are 4-5 passes for the lead in a single lap, it's amazing and so entertaining. The days of Rossi making a last lap, last corner pass for the win were awesome.
Laguna Seca 2008 ... battle between Rossi and Stoner is one of my all-time faves.
Rossi is the GOAT.
Yeah.
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Re: The motorsports thread.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
choke
I can't agree with that. It is true that in this day and age they have become the arena of specialists just as the classics and Grand Tours have in bicycle racing, but like those bike races there was a time when it wasn't the case. The IoM TT was part of the Grand Prix circuit for many years and those riders managed to be competitive on both types of tracks. In the end it is racing a motorcycle and there's no reason that someone couldn't do well at both if they wanted to......but I do think that it takes a certain mindset to race the true road races and most of today's current MotoGP riders don't have that mindset, since they didn't grow up competing on that type of course.
Yeah- but that time was forty to fifty years ago at this point....and the way modern MotoGP guys ride bikes would mean that everyone of them would be dead if they tried to ride that way at IoM TT. The skillsets are of course similar- because it's racing a motorcycle- but it's a completely different sport. I love everything about both of them- and yeah it would be amazing to see Rossi try the TT just once.
I could see Rea doing it actually. That kid has nothing left to prove and for some reason no one will write the ticket he needs to race MotoGP.
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Re: The motorsports thread.
IOM is a time trial more than a head to head race, very different to modern GP races
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Re: The motorsports thread.
F1 Bahrain GP on Sunday: Hamilton gets a grid penalty because they had to replace his gear box before 6 races. F1 rules are baffling at times.
The money invalid at the highest level is enormous, so screw it, let hem change it every race if they want.
Just my opinion.
Go Ferrari! Don’t fn’ crash out both cars like last year in Singapore last year...
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Re: The motorsports thread.
I'm watching Tour de Corse this week-end. I've stopped watching rallying for a decade or so but I must admit the live broadcast of some super stages makes it much more enjoyable these days.
The cars are now very ugly and the regulations seems to offer much more freedom in term of aero body work but the bbiggest difference I can spot is how efficient the suspensions are these days. Even on the brakes in the bumpiest roads it is incredible how stable these cars seems to be and how very little movement you can spot in the cockpit.
https://i.imgur.com/1v1sr0El.png
https://i.imgur.com/UnzYWi4l.png
https://i.imgur.com/XWsQ4ygl.png
https://i.imgur.com/po8wZP2l.png
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1 Attachment(s)
Re: The motorsports thread.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
glepore
Yeah.
Can't forget this one too.
Attachment 107297
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Re: The motorsports thread.
Race #2 of 2018 MotoGP was certainly entertaining. I have to say, the season pass I purchased for streaming has definitely been worth it so far. Great to see two non-factory bikes on the box. Zarco is going to find himself on the top step sometime soon. So cool.
Jack Miller's qualifying was bold and magic. And the standing wheelies afterward were flippin' cool!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sg-9RAwHJJs
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Re: The motorsports thread.
I wonder what Zarco does for next year.
The KTM thing is interesting but they are a few years out still from a competing machine.
The Factory's seem pretty content with their current riders saving Lorenzo at Ducati. They'll never get the money back on that deal.